Social Status is Less Important Than True Friendship

In some ways, social equity can make it easier to form a bond - you will have similar financial boundaries, have the ability to afford similar social events/vacations, etc.

When I am choosing friends, their overall social status matters less to me than what kind of person they are, how they treat their friends and family and what interests we have in common.

The friends that I keep are ones who have similar interests, values and goals.

In my high school, many people formed friendships based on social status and financial worth. These connections were encouraged by families and supported by the school community. Groups with higher social status were selected for special opportunities, projects and given a higher degree of freedom and power within the student population. Those students who fell outside of this social elite were often shunned and devalued by the school community as a whole.

In college, the bonds formed by social status weakened significantly. It was clear that for some groups (namely, sororities or socially driven community groups like Junior League) social status played a major role, but connections were possibly (and even likely) between the social elite and those with lower social standing.

As an adult, social status is an important factor for people who value monetary things and external appearances over developing and forming real relationships. Due to time constraints and other circumstances, many adults may find themselves surrounded by people of similar social standing - those people in your neighborhood, in your social clubs, in your grocery stores, etc are probably from similar groups. The adults who limit themselves to those of equal or higher standing or those who ostracize others for being lower tend to be people have have made a social jump themselves. Someone who WAS a social outcast in high school but as an adult is socially accepted is much more likely to ignore other outcasts to avoid their own class dropping again.

Adults who are self-assured, confident and value true relationships will not consider social class to be the primary reason to develop and keep a relationship with someone.